The Woking Council Executive met to discuss several key issues, including the implementation of an additional licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), changes to the service agreement for The Lightbox, and the disposal of council assets. The Executive also reviewed the council's financial performance and budget monitoring reports.

Additional Licensing Scheme for Houses in Multiple Occupation

The Executive resolved to designate a borough-wide additional licensing scheme for landlords with Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), set to begin on 1 January 2026 and last until 31 December 2030. The decision was made following a 10-week consultation, and is intended to improve the management and condition of HMOs across Woking. The scheme will require landlords of HMOs with three or more occupants from two or more households to obtain a licence.

The council's discretionary power to implement an additional licensing scheme is set out in Part 2 of the Housing Act 2004. The Act enables the council to require additional sizes of Houses in Multiple Occupation to be licensed within a designated area of the borough.

The Executive also agreed to implement the proposed fee structure for both the additional licensing scheme and the mandatory licensing scheme from 1 January 2026, and delegated authority to the Strategic Director Place to implement the scheme, undertake reviews, and make minor amendments to the Housing Standards Licensing Policy.

The consultation, which ran from 23 June 2025 to 31 August 2025, received 177 responses, with 12% from landlords and 19% from private tenants. The consultation analysis is available as Appendix 1 to the Additional Licensing Scheme for Houses in Multiple Occupation report.

Comments and representations from the consultation are available as Appendix 2, and the proposals for the additional licensing scheme are available as Appendix 3.

Housing Revenue Account Forensic Review

The Executive recommended to the Council that £3,841,106 be transferred from the General Fund to the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) to rectify transactions related to the Sheerwater Estate Regeneration Project that were incorrectly charged to the HRA. Additionally, interest of £649,476 will be transferred from the General Fund to ensure the HRA is fully compensated. The transfer of the Yellow Phase land remains paused, pending a future report to the Executive. The total impact on the General Fund of £4.49 million will be funded by an existing legacy risk reserve. Debt Standstill and Cash Sweep arrangements will remain in place to recover surplus cash from ThamesWey Group.

The forensic review, conducted by Forvis Mazars, identified historical transactions in the Sheerwater Estate Regeneration Project that were wrongly charged to the HRA. The Forvis Mazars Summary Report is attached as Appendix 1 to the Housing Revenue Account Forensic Review report.

The Lightbox - Changes to the Service Agreement

The Executive agreed to changes to the 2003 service agreement with the Woking Museum and Arts and Craft Centre (WMACC) in relation to The Lightbox. As part of the council’s improvement and recovery programme, a reducing subsidy from the council was agreed and submitted as part of the council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy. The Strategic Director Communities, in consultation with the Director of Legal and Democratic Services, was authorised to make the necessary changes to the 2003 Service Agreement, and to approve any minor changes to the Service Agreement.

Asset Disposal - Dukes Court and Albion House

The Executive agreed that following a competitive open market disposal process, Dukes Court and Albion House should be sold freehold to the recommended bidders. Authority was delegated to the Strategic Director Corporate Resources, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder, to complete the sale. The decision was taken to realise capital values as part of the current managed site disposal process.

Budget Monitoring Q1 2025-26

The Executive noted the Council’s 2025/26 Quarter 1 revenue and capital outturn forecasts for the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account. It was also noted that the Corporate Leadership Team will continue to identify mitigations to enable the net expenditure for 2025/26 to be contained within the budgets approved by the Council on 3 March 2025.

The Budget Monitoring Q1 2025-26 report noted a projected General Fund overspend of £2.458m, with Corporate Leadership Team working to identify mitigations.

Performance Management Report

The Executive received the performance monitoring information contained in the Performance Management Report – Quarter 1, 2025-26. The report highlighted performance against key performance indicators (KPIs) across various directorates.

Richard Carr, Chief Executive of Woking Council, noted the evolving nature of the performance report, with the KPIs extended from 55 to 67, including the introduction of several finance measures. He also noted that other Surrey authorities had not agreed to their performance data being used in the report, so comparisons could not be made.

The report included a Human Resources Dashboard, which highlighted key performance information against recruitment/workforce, engagement, equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing criteria.